When LeBron James signed with the Lakers on Sunday, there was an expectation that other big-name free agents would join The King in Los Angeles. The reality resulted in Lance Stephenson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee signing with the purple and gold.

What Johnson pitched to James was a team stocked with tough-minded playmakers like Stephenson and Rondo who could free up James to finish in the lanes and from the post, rather than having to create the lion's share of the offense himself. Rondo and Stephenson are also defensively versatile as their length enables them to be effective defenders in switches. That also follows with the talents of the 6-foot-6 Ball, who showed the ability to be an elite rebounder and defender for a guard in his rookie year.

This schematic direction will be a far cry from James' tenure in Cleveland, where the team surrounded him with elite-to-capable sharpshooters, and he shouldered the brunt of the playmaking load. But it's a transition other greats, such as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, had to make when they reached their mid-30s.

Ideally, this will also help the Lakers defensively, as James will be able to use the saved energy on that side of the ball.

James doesn't exactly have the best history playing alongside ball-dominant players. Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Jordan Clarkson all floundered when they arrived in Cleveland. Though the Lakers' plan was enough to convince James to move to L.A., it's anything but a guaranteed success.

Whether this strategy will prove effective against the elite teams of the Western Conference remains to be seen. If things fall flat, the Lakers always have the fail-safe of this generation's greatest player suiting up for their team - at least for the next four seasons.